By CASEY MCNERTHNEY and CHRIS GRYGIEL, SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF

Updated 10:00 pm, Monday, May 17, 2010

Seattle Police are conducting a criminal investigation into officers involved in an April 17 incident in which a Latino man was seen being stomped by two officers, Interim Chief John Diaz said Tuesday.

However, the investigation will be conducted by members of the department, which drew criticism from James Kelly of the Urban League and other community leaders.

The video, filmed off Westlake Avenue North, shows Detective Shandy Cobane saying he'll beat the "(expletive) Mexican piss" out of a man before kicking the man’s head and stomping his arm. Another officer, Mary Woollum, is seen stomping once on the man while he is on the ground.

The man was released from the scene.

Cobane made a tearful apology the day after the video was first broadcast on local news the night of May 6. He and Woollum were placed on administrative reassignment May 7-- even though the internal department investigation started the previous month.

Asked by seattlepi.com if the broadcast of the footage sped up the process of Cobane and Woollum being reassigned, Diaz said Friday, “not really.” The interim chief said additional information came in, but did not elaborate on why the reassignment came later.

State Patrol Sgt. Freddy Williams said unless asked, his agency and other law enforcement agencies don’t conduct investigations such as the one regarding the Seattle police video.

Police say on April 17, the man who was stomped was detained during an investigation into an armed robbery involving a death threat that happened blocks away. The victim told police he was approached by four Hispanic men. One person detained by police was arrested, but the man stomped was released from the scene.

Diaz said a detective is putting together a file that will be submitted to the prosecutor's office.

"I want to make sure all the T's are crossed and I's are dotted," Diaz said. "It will be fully worked up as a criminal case. A decision will be made by the prosecutor's office ... they will make that determination ... whether to file the case criminally," said Diaz, who joined Mayor Mike McGinn at a Tuesday briefing with reporters.

Immediately after the briefing, activists in the Latino community held a City Hall news conference, calling for stronger actions.

Estela Ortega, executive director of El Centro de la Raza, called for Cobane and Wollum to be immediately removed as officers and their supervisor be placed on unpaid leave pending the outcome of an administrative investigation. She demanded other officers at the scene also be put on unpaid leave for at least two weeks.

Asked Friday by Seattlepi.com what penalty the officers should face, Diaz said he wouldn’t answer the question until he looks at the full investigation, which is ongoing. Hear the audio from his Friday briefing here.

Police said an administrative review of the officers' actions would also proceed parallel to a criminal investigation.

The most recent OPA data, released last month, show the overall number of contacts they handle continues to rise. Last year, the number increased by about 100 to 1,442.

But few involve serious allegations of police misconduct.

About 12 percent of that overall contacts number from last year -- 176 complaints -- involved allegations of what the department considered serious misconduct, which led to full investigations.

But another 198 complaints, including some from the previous year, were at least initially investigated and closed.

Excessive force is the most common complaint referred for full OPA investigation. The number of Seattle officers who have use of force complaints increased between 2004 and 2007, but decreased annually since then, according to department statistics.

In 2007 there were 124 officers with at least one use of force complaint. In 2009, the number dropped to 79.

Luis Ortega, co-director of Alianza Student Coalition, said his group will work with Seattle police to have Latinos regain trust with officers.

”But that trust has to be earned,” he told the crowd of about 150 at City Hall Tuesday morning. “We are angry, disappointed and saddened by the events, but we are hopeful.”